Piper PA44 N711AV

Summary

On 12 January 2025 at about 19:25 local time, a Piper PA44 registered N711AV, operated by AA Aero Inc, was involved in an accident near Fairfield, New Jersey, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 January 2025 at 19:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Fairfield, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Essex County (CDW)

Coordinates

40.8748, -74.2812

Aircraft

Piper PA44

Registration

N711AV

Category

Airplane

Year built

1989

Engines

2

Operator

AA Aero Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA105

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear prior to landing, which resulted in a gear up landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the pilot receiving instruction.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an instructional flight, while approaching the runway to land, the flight instructor told the pilot receiving instruction to check that the landing gear had been extended. While the instructor handled radio transmissions and watched an aircraft that was still on the runway, the pilot receiving instruction performed the prelanding checklist but did not extend the landing gear. Due to the distraction of the radios and traffic on the runway, the instructor did not notice that the landing gear remained stowed. During the flare to land, both pilots realized the landing gear remained up and the airplane settled onto the runway with the landing gear retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage. Postaccident examination of the landing gear and landing gear position warning system revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.